New York, NY - May 25, 2011 – The international explosion of hip-hop culture and rap music is explored in the new documentary, HIP-HOP: THE FURIOUS FORCE OF RHYMES, premiering Friday, June 24th at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Smithsonian Channel. The film, which was recently nominated for a 2011 Rockie at the Banff World Media Festival, traverses four continents and six countries, looking at hip-hop as trans-national protest music.

Rap has found kindred souls in people as diverse as African Activists, Israeli Jews, French Arabs and even German skinhead punks, all of whom share a common musical language. Recognizing themselves in the oppression of American blacks, people everywhere have adapted the music of born on the streets of New York to their own causes.

HIP-HOP: THE FURIOUS FORCE OF RHYMES features performances and interviews with New York’s Grandmaster Caz, a member of the pioneering rap group the Cold Crush Brothers; Les Nubians, of Paris, a Grammy-nominated duo comprised of sisters Hélène and Célia Faussart; M.C. Busy Bee of the South Bronx, a rap originator who worked with many of hip hop’s founding fathers including Afrika Bambaataa and Melle Mel; Amneh Jarushi, a 19 year-old Arab-Palestinian woman and Neta Weiner, an Israeli-Jew, both of whom are part of the Middle Eastern hip hop collective System Ali; Joe Rilla, a burly, tattooed German skinhead who describes his experience of growing up under East German communism; Senegalese feminist rapper Myriam, who recounts the trauma of being circumcised as a young woman; and many others.

The first major film about hip-hop both in and outside of the United States, HIP-HOP: THE FURIOUS FORCE OF RHYMES has been featured at numerous festivals including the South By Southwest Music Festival, the Rose D’Or and the Locarno International Film Festival.

HIP-HOP: THE FURIOUS FORCE OF RHYMES is directed by filmmaker Joshua Atesh Litle, a lifelong hip hop enthusiast. Executive Producers for the Smithsonian Channel are David Royle and Charles Poe.

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